It is important for the body and mind to keep moving every day. A common rule of thumb is that you should walk at least 10,000 steps a day. FITBOOK author Martin Lewicki explains how you can best achieve this in your everyday life and whether it can even replace an entire exercise session.
You should walk at least 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy. At least that is what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends. Exercise in the form of walking has many positive effects, as numerous studies have shown and, for example, the North Rhine Medical Association describes in a brochure. 1 But are the famous 10,000 steps enough to replace exercise? And are even fewer steps enough to benefit your health?
Who actually decided that it should be 10,000 steps?
In fact, there was no medical study on which the figure of 10,000 steps was based. Rather, the value goes back to a Japanese advertising campaign in the 1960s. A company called Yamasa had launched the so-called “Manpo-kei” on the market. Translated, the name means something like “10,000-step counter” – which is what the gadget actually was. The value of 10,000 steps was based on an assumption: Since a study had shown that Japanese people took an average of between 3,500 and 5,000 steps a day, it was certain that 10,000 steps would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Over the decades, 10,000 steps became increasingly the standard value and became ingrained in people’s consciousness; many studies were also based around this number.
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Number of steps and their effect on health: study situation
There are several studies that confirm that walking has a positive effect on health. For example, a Japanese study found that people who walked 10,000 steps had better sleep quality. Other studies suggest that 10,000 or more steps can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and have a positive effect on blood pressure, among other things.
Overall, however, it is clear that the magic number of 10,000 steps is only a guideline. Various research results show that positive effects are possible even with fewer steps per day.
reducing the risk of death
In older women, one study showed that 4,400 steps reduced the risk of premature death. Another study found that 8,000 steps were associated with a lower risk of death compared to 4,000 steps. A September 2021 study found that just 7,000 steps a day reduced the risk of premature death by up to 70 percent in middle-aged people.
Overall, if we summarize the core results of many studies, the positive effects seem to be evident even with step counts of less than 10,000 per day, although the health benefits seem to increase with increasing step counts, depending on the study.
How many steps are equivalent to one hour of jogging?
However, many people believe that you have to force yourself to go to the gym, jog or do other sweaty sports to stay fit.
The problem is that it is not easy to integrate sport into a working day if you would rather spend time with family and friends. And sport is not something everyone enjoys. The constant self-motivation and the bad feeling when you don’t manage to do any sport can actually cause stress rather than relieve it.
But the good news is that you don’t have to exercise every day! Depending on the distance, simple walking can even replace training sessions. One hour of slow cycling is equivalent to around 7,500 steps. One hour of jogging, on the other hand, is as much as 12,500 steps – but it depends a lot on the speed. Every step is valuable and is often easier to incorporate into your daily routine than an hour of exercise. But 10,000 steps are also (depending on the length of your stride) around 6.5 kilometers – and you have to cover that distance first. But don’t worry, you can do it – with our tips.
How to achieve 10,000 steps per day
With a few simple tricks, collecting steps in everyday life is almost automatic. For example, the car and public transport may be convenient for the morning commute, but they don’t make you fit. Tip for collecting steps: If possible, simply use your bike to get to work. There are even conversion tools on the Internet that you can use to convert your cycling distance into steps. Some fitness bracelets and smartwatches also offer a conversion function.
Another easy trick to get extra steps in: just get off the bus or train one or two stops early and walk ten to fifteen minutes on the way to work or home. This way you start the day more alert – and at the end of the day it helps you relax and breathe deeply. And if you do have to use the car, just don’t park right outside the door, but park the car one or two kilometers from your destination and walk the rest of the way.
During your lunch break, you should also get into the habit of taking a ten-minute walk to aid digestion before returning to your desk. And during working hours, it is also a good idea to get up from your office chair after an hour at the latest and move around a bit. You can set up your office so that frequently used items such as wastepaper baskets, printers or shelves are at the other end of the room. And if there are stairs at your workplace, then use them – as a healthy alternative to elevators or escalators. It all adds up and at the end of the day you will be rewarded with a good step count.
